March marks the last month of the free Soup-and-Salad offering at the South Danbury Church winter Speaker Series, and regular attendees seem to agree that the homemade meal by itself is worth the effort it takes to rouse themselves on a winter’s evening and leave the house.
“I sometimes think that people would be happy even if all we did was eat together,” says Kathy Neustadt, the Series’ co-founder, “but this month’s presentations are going to be so lively and interesting that I know for certain that no one will wonder for a moment whether they should have stayed home.”
On Friday, March 11, local historian and woodsman Tom Curren, in his talk “Tall Trees, Good Tales,” will be sharing an overview of logging from the colonial period down to the time of the railroad. Beginning with a sketch of the primeval New England forest, he will explore the early mast trade and the ways in which logging led to the settlement and land use of much of northern New England.
Personalities such as the Wentworth family, John Ross, and George Van Dyke will be touched upon, as well as the ways in which past logging traditions affect us down to the present day.
“And anyone who feels any chagrin about extra inches they may have put on over the course of the winter,” Curren says, knowingly, “will have the opportunity to measure themselves against some truly gargantuan timber dimensions of the past.” Ample time will be provided for stories from the audience, which the speaker enthusiastically encourages.
On Friday, March 25, Ayn Whytemare of Found Well Farm in Pembroke — and one of the purveyors at the Blazing Star Grange Winter Market — will speak about “How-to with Native Plants.” This talk will help us figure out how best to create the right settings for the plants we want to add to our surroundings or for those we already have.
An adjunct instructor in Plant Biology, Environmental Science, and Ecology at the New Hampshire Technical Institute, Ayn also holds an M.S. in Forest Ecology from the University of Washington after her father told her she should “go West” to see more of the world. “I loved the Pacific Northwest,” she admits, “but I kept wanting to come back to New Hampshire, and when I did, I looked at the landscape in a very different way.” Ayn will also make suggestions for dealing with invasive plants, crowded landscapes, and overall design.
During the winter months, the Speaker Series programs begin at 6:30 PM with soup and salad, and talks begin at 7 PM. The South Danbury Church (an open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ) is located at 1411 US Route 4 in South Danbury, where church services are held on Sundays at 11 AM. For more information about the winter series, call 768-3191.